Stardate 2016.803

14,411 Feet
Welcome back to Lee Zard's adventures with Snowcatcher in the Great Northwest. Have you guessed what peak this is? After leaving Seattle, Snowcatcher and I made a B-line southeast toward Mount Rainier National Park. Mount Rainier touches the clouds at 14,411 feet, and it's massive.

We drove around the southern flank of Washington's highest before heading across the high plains of central and eastern Washington. This segment of our trip was a very long day and worth every mile. We powered down in Moses Lake, Washington. The following sequence of photos tell the tale. I'll minimize my yammering this round. Each of the following pics portray Mount Rainier. Enjoy!

If you need some music for this series, how about "Eight Miles High" by the Byrds – one of those 60s songs whose lyrics mean whatever you want them to mean. You get the drift.
















We had time for one more overnight before the long drive back down to Colorado's Front Range. Stay tuned!

Adios

Stardate 2016.797

Homeward Bound...
As we all know, good things end fast, and it was time to point the 4Runner inland. After a couple of days on Washington's Olympic Peninsula, it was time to return to Colorado. Our first stop of the day was John Wayne Marina (title photo). Yes, John Wayne, the actor of western lore, would bring his boat up here.

About an hour later we rolled into Bremerton, one of Washington State's naval bases. From Bremerton, we caught a ferry ride across Puget Sound to Seattle. As the ferry began its journey, the Bremerton port became very interesting.



For me, the naval influence was a jackpot. Ship number 68 is the USS Nimitz (CVN 68). This ship is a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. Often referred to as a supercarrier, it's one of the largest war ships on the planet. Note the four submarines docked next to it as well.





Chug, chug, chug... As we plugged along the narrow, forested waterway, the movie The African Queen with Katharine Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart came to mind. Go figure...




There are quite a few homes buried in the forest that lines the waterways.



As we neared Puget Sound the narrow sea channel opened up. So did the background. Mount Rainier rises to 14,411 feet, the highest point in Washington.




Seattle is a very busy port. You can probably guess what this tanker carries.




The Seattle shipyards appear very busy too.




Welcome to...




...Seattle!




That's it for traveling to Seattle. We still have a few spots inland to visit while on our way home.

Adios!